Aquastyleonline.com LED questions.

[hobbzz]

Milkman

They wouldn't technically be more white, but they have less blue in them. So it would make sense that you would need to add more blue. 6500k is pretty yellow. But it will show reds, oranges, and yellow better than 10000k. That's why a lot of people that run only royal blue and cool white complain about washed out color, and why new fixtures from manufacturers have a more varied mix of spectrum.

 

[want2reef]

How long does it generally take for you guys to hear back from Ray? I emailed him on Monday amd still haven't heard anything...I used the from on their website. I definitely won't do business with someone I can't get a hold of.

I emailed him too about a week ago..... Crickets,nothing, nada.:thumbdown

 

[Gorgok]

I emailed many times and the only reason it ever took any time to reply was the time zone difference. I'd send an email out in the afternoon, he would probably be asleep, i'd get a reply the next day, i'd reply... wait another day.

6500K is also pretty white, while 10000K is more blue. 4500K is what many of the Cree builds go with to warm up the color (6500K is cool white). I have 8 4500K, 4 10000K, 2 UV and 16 royal blues on my fixtures and i like the color quite a bit (but i'm replacing a 14000K MH, so its got a hint of yellow in it). I still need to finish the units and install them though.

 

[pwreef]

anyone try the DIM4 with the Maxwellen drivers from aquastyle? ... I am seriously considering a Reef Keeper Elite for a future purchase...

Nick

You cannot dim those Maxwellen drivers with anything but a potentiometer. You will need to get either Meanwell or Inventronics drivers to dim using any kind of controller. I have RKL ALC and I dim 4 Inventronics drivers. Works well. Good luck.

 

[Gorgok]

Or a DIY driver =D.

The Maxwellen bricks seem to have issues with dimming if the voltage of the string drops below its minimum while trying to dim the string. Like with my ATS string, at ~37V, will start to blink when i go too low on dimming. I think its because the Vf drops under 30V and the driver cannot compensate enough. But i am not sure on this point...

 

[MADtanks]

im with you Gorgok, and it is what it is when it comes to either expoxy the leds to the heat sink or screw them on.... I have done both and feel far better with drilled and screws. If for whatever reason one goes out, it will be way easier to replace than trying to pry it out(tried) clean the surface, and re-glue. thats just me though i guess, taking the extra step and it taking a bit is well worth it in my opinion.

Again just me.

 

[Gorgok]

Having removed and cleaned a good deal of glued down LEDs i still would rather glue them than drill and screw. But, i also came to the conclusion the last time i did a swap that i'm an idiot =D.

Instead of popping the star off the heat sink, unsoldering the wires from the star, cleaning, gluing, soldering the wires again i could have done it as simply as unsoldering the LED itself off the star, replacing it with another LED, and being done. The stars are all the same.... But that might take more confidence to do.

I did use my own epoxy though, so i don't know how hard theirs is to remove. Arctic Alumina is what i used.

 

[MADtanks]

Gorgok, you my friend are lucky then lol... i didnt have that option with the Crees since the solder leads were not exposed like they are in the BL. But shoot man, how many months did you have the Artic Alumina on there before you removed it? I do agree with you that it would be quite simple to remove the actual LED from the pad on these LED's. So I do see how Gluing them on would make plenty sense

 

[milkman55]

Great idea on just swapping out the LED and leaving the star intact. I think I will swap out a few of the 10000k with either 6500k or 4500k just to experiment some.

Concerning the Maxwellen and dimming. I just swapped out my rheostat with Radio Shack 3w-25ohm and it works much better with a smooth transition.

Even though I have an Apex, I don't get all the buzz on dimming via the controller vs the rheostat? Once I have the corals acclimated and the color temp set, I just don't see the value of ramping up the lights slowly. I am rarely around when the lights come on and just don't see how the corals care about a slow ramp up. Very pleased with the Maxwellen drivers so far considering the cost. They look like they are solidly constructed. Aluminum case vs. plastic.

 

[Gorgok]

My lights turn off right around dinner time. Depending on how long we sit there it can be quite a shock when my current MH lights go off. Ramping them on is less important as the MH lights aren't instantly on as is. But it's mostly still user enjoyment rather than something the tank needs.

 

[hobbzz]

Still nothing from Ray after five days. I'll email him one more time, and if I still get no response my decision will be very easy. Although I would be very leary of buying something from someone that doesn't respond...

 

[milkman55]

Based on the success with the 36 LED kit on my 40b tank, I worked on a layout of 90 LED's for my 120 gal display today. Here is the proposed layout using the 90 LED dimmable kit. I am going to layer in some 6500k white LEDs in place of some of the 10000k and also increase the mix to 50/50 white to blue with 3 each of the red and UV . There are five 4 ft U channels with 18 LEDs each space about 2 1/4" apart. I will space the five rails about 3" apart for a total fixture width of about 16-17" over the 24" tank width.

Just going to have a single cable with 5 pairs of wires going down to the cabinet below to tie into the five drivers which will each drive 18 LEDs at 700ma. Like I did on the 36 LED kit, I will replace the 5 rheostats with the Radio Shack version for better adjustment response. I am going to mount all the drivers on a board in the bottom of the stand with their own cooling fan and put the rheostats in a project box that I can mount where it can easily be reached for adjustment. I am going to use a very low profile housing for just the U channel and LEDs. Probably only 2" tall or less spanning the 4ft length of the tank. The LED's with lenses and the U channel are less that 1 1/2" tall.

Any suggestions on the mix or positioning of the LEDs would be appreciated. When I exchanged e-mails with Ray on using some of the 6500k white LEDs, he said that I should in increase the blue some because the 6500k will be more white. I did increase the blue count by about 5 to exactly 50/50 with both white specturms. I debated adding a sixth U channel with 18 more LEDs for a total of 108, but I nixed that idea because I have my 36 LEDs over the 40b turned down some right now due the high light output.

 

[00Warpig00]

You cannot dim those Maxwellen drivers with anything but a potentiometer. You will need to get either Meanwell or Inventronics drivers to dim using any kind of controller. I have RKL ALC and I dim 4 Inventronics drivers. Works well. Good luck.

Thanks for the info. so it seems as if the Maxwellen drivers are NOT 0-10V dimmers but variable resistance across the dimmer terminals. Things make more sense now. hmm have to rethink this again... I'm NOT going to spend the money on an LED rig and NOT get dimmable via controller doesnt make sense to me. Looks like Inventronics makes some VERY nice (and pricey) drivers.

Nick

 

[marsnakeman]

Just ordered a 72 kit today should be fun. What would u guys recommend spacing wise for that kit over a standard 55 gallon?

 

[hobbzz]

Finally got a response from Ray on the first email. He recommended 10-10000K, 8-4500K, 20 royal blue, 4 blue (they do have regular blue, 462-465nm), 2 red, and 4 violet 420nm (not UV) to get me a 20k look with the colors I wanted to acheive a good spectral mix. Depending on the price I think I might be willing to give these a try.

 

[nemosworld]

just remember to replace the pots with better ones.

 

[actarus]

Like I did on the 36 LED kit, I will replace the 5 rheostats with the Radio Shack version for better adjustment response.

just remember to replace the pots with better ones.

I have one of these drivers and found that you dim only on 25% of the potentiometer.

Which is the value of this pots ? Do i have to change his value ?
Can you tell me what pots do you take ?

thanks you

 

[nemosworld]

I have one of these drivers and found that you dim only on 25% of the potentiometer.

Which is the value of this pots ? Do i have to change his value ?
Can you tell me what pots do you take ?

thanks you

you can't change the value, the pots that come with the drivers are not as smooth as ones you can get from radio shack or electronic stores.
after testing one today, i find the dimming does not change, but atleast it feels better dimming, more smoothif that makes sense. i won't be doing any dimming, so mine will run at 100%

if you wantto change the pots, just look for 10k ohm potentiameters
http://www.google.com/products/cata...=X&ei=cLnRToT5DKGyiQKQq6jRCw&ved=0CCkQ8wIwAA#

 

[milkman55]

I'm certainly no electrical expert, but I used 25 ohm-3 watt rheostats from Radio Shack. Made sense to me since the LED's are 3 watt. The 10 ohm is listed at 1/2 watt.

I think it's just smoother. There appears to be little adjustment after the first 25% below wide open. Mainly useful in getting the right mix between the white and blue strings.

 

[nemosworld]

I'm certainly no electrical expert, but I used 25 ohm-3 watt rheostats from Radio Shack. Made sense to me since the LED's are 3 watt. The 10 ohm is listed at 1/2 watt.

I think it's just smoother. There appears to be little adjustment after the first 25% below wide open. Mainly useful in getting the right mix between the white and blue strings.

neither am i, i just went with what i see being sold at online diy led stores.
http://www.rapidled.com/servlet/the-116/10K-Ohm-Linear-Potentiometer/Detail